title: Microwave sidebands for laser cooling by direct modulation of a tapered amplifier.
abstract: Laser cooling of atoms usually necessitates several laser frequencies. Alkaline atoms, for example, are cooled by two lasers with a frequency difference in the gigahertz range. This gap cannot be closed with simple shifting techniques. Here, we present a method of generating sidebands at 6.6 GHz by modulating the current of a tapered amplifier, which is seeded by an unmodulated master laser. The sidebands enable trapping of 1.1 × 10(9) (87)Rb atoms in a chip-based magneto-optical trap. Compared to the direct modulation of the master laser, this method allows for an easy implementation, a fast adjustment over a wide frequency range, and the simultaneous extraction of unmodulated light for manipulation and detection. The low power consumption, small size, and applicability for multiple frequencies benefit a wide range of applications reaching from atom-based mobile sensors to the laser cooling of molecules.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Quantenoptik, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Welfengarten 1, 30167 Hannover, Germany. mahnke@iqo.uni-hannover.de
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mahnke
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kulas
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Geisel
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jöllenbeck
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ertmer
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Klempt